No rift between Aiyedatiwa, Tunji-Ojo — Ondo APC elders

Elders of the All Progressives Congress in Ondo State, under the aegis of the Ondo Mandate Elders Forum, have dismissed reports of a rift between Governor Lucky Aiyedatiwa and the Minister of Interior, Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo.

The elders, who met on Wednesday at the Akure residence of the group’s chairman, Chief Erastus Alejo, said their primary focus was uniting the party ahead of the 2027 presidential election.

Speaking at the meeting, the facilitator of the group, Dr Demola Ijabiyi, declared that the elders were not aware of any rancour between the two party leaders.

He said, “We said we do not recognise any discord between Governor Aiyedatiwa and Bunmi Tunji-Ojo. The dispute is on social media due to the imagination of social media influencers.

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“We did not say that we would reconcile them as there is nothing on the ground to warrant reconciliation.”

Ijabiyi stressed that the elders’ priority was to mobilise support to ensure President Bola Tinubu secures a landslide victory in 2027.

He said, “The purpose of this gathering is to foster social-political interaction among elders, to get them involved. We are not allowing them to retire yet, because they have a lot of contributions to make.

“We have to have a central forum, and then promote the interests of our party in this state, make sure that there is cohesion, and whenever there is a crisis, we troubleshoot and resolve the crisis.

“Very significantly, we want to have a forum where the elders can also form a support group for President Bola Tinubu, because we have a purpose, we have a target in Ondo State. During the last election, we were boasting that we scored over 60 per cent.

“We have more than 1.9million registered voters in Ondo State. So, why can’t we deliver even more than one million for Tinubu? So, we want absolute figures. Ondo State is one of the catchment areas of President Tinubu. We all love him in Ondo State. So, what we require, what we need to do, is to mobilise.”

The meeting was attended by party chieftains and former political office holders, including a former Chief Judge of the state, Justice Sehinde Kumuyi; former Secretary to the State Government, Princess Oladunni Odu; former Commissioner Femi Agagu; Chief Bailey Arohunmolase; Mr. Ebenezer Alabi; Chief Korede Duyile; Chief Femi Bakare; Senator Yele Omogunwa; and Chief Olabisi Johnson, among others.